Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to cult comic book Cobalt 60, with Zack Snyder attached to direct the adaptation. Snyder also is attached to produce with Debbie Snyder. A search for a writer is under way.

Taking place in a postapocalyptic world inhabited by mutants and fantastical creatures, the story follows the masked hero Cobalt 60, who embarks on a quest to avenge his parents, who were murdered by the evil Strontium 90.

Underground artist Vaughn Bode created Cobalt 60 and its characters in 1968, but after one story the characters languished in obscurity. Bode’s son, Mark, picked up his father’s mantle in the 1980s, reviving the trippy art style and violence. The stories, plotted by Larry Todd, were published in comics magazine Epic Illustrated.

Snyder directed Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming 300, based on the Frank Miller graphic novel. Snyder, who burst onto the scene with 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, also is attached to direct Watchmen.